Dome Home Serves As Local Landmark

August 26, 1985|By Stephen J. Cohen, Staff Writer

Neighbors say they aren`t too fond of Tom Williamson`s white geodesic dome home in suburban Lantana, but all concede it`s one heck of a landmark.

``Nobody was too thrilled when it went up, but it makes it real easy to find our street,`` said Indian Trail resident Larry Hoffman, a neighbor. ``I just tell everyone coming here to turn at the street where the igloo is.``

``If the year was 1942 and the war was on here you could put a big gun on the roof and use it as a gun turret,`` said Joe Rabl, a neighbor who lives behind the dome.

Undaunted, Williamson continues to push the home dome concept. His company, Palm Beach Domes, built the Indian Trail structure as a model. He has yet to sell his first dome, but he is not discouraged.

The home, 45 feet in diameter, resembles a large golf ball from the outside. Inside, it is spacious with two stories, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a total of 2,100 square feet of living space.

``Dome homes can be very energy efficient, and there are more than 40,000 domes in use in the U.S. today,`` Williamson said. His mother-in-law, Mary Barkley, lives in the Indian Trail dome home, and his wife, Mary Jo, is a partner in the firm.

The dome business doesn`t put any bread on Williamson`s table. Neither does his other sideline venture, Skate Bike America, which sells a device that is half skate board, half bicycle.

Williamson`s other job, as vice president of sales at Florida Pneumatic, brings the income needed to live on, he said.

However, after four open houses at the dome and hundreds of people marveling at the large living room area, which is open to the dome`s top, Williamson thinks he has a few good prospects.

Barkley said, ``All the people who come in say, `Wow! I can`t believe it`s so big inside.` ``

The neighbors have mixed feelings. The dome may be a good landmark, but several say it does not conform to the rest of the neighborhood. It sticks out like a sore thumb, one said.

But others don`t mind.

``It doesn`t bother me at all,`` Indian Trail resident John Shasko said. ``It`s just like another house.``

However, Hoffman said, ``I have no desire to go in there. We would like to have it screened with a big tree. I think it is better suited out in the country away from main roads, as a vacation home.``

Williamson, 29, concedes he is a dreamer.

``I have been interested in domes for many years,`` he said.

``When you want to do something you have always dreamed about, there are a lot of things you have to do to turn those dreams into reality. We`re working on it.``

His firm sells the triangular exterior panels that are bolted together to create the dome`s exterior. It takes about 60 panels to create a dome home. Some of the prefabricated shell packages cost $10,000 to $15,000. The finished homes, including plumbing, electrical and interior work, run anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000, he said.

The Indian Trail dome cost $85,000 to build and furnish, he said, including the burglar alarm.

The geodesic dome concept, conceived by architect Buckminister Fuller many years ago, was featured in the U.S. pavilion at the Montreal Expo in 1967 and later at Epcot Center in Disney World.

Home domes offer several advantages, Williamson said.

``The structure is very strong. In a hurricane it`s one of the best places to be because it has no squared edges. There`s no place for the wind to grab on to and push off.

``In western states like California, where many of the existing domes are located, dome homes have remained intact while traditional homes have had their roofs lifted off by extremely strong winds,`` he said.

Domes also are energy efficient, Williamson said.

Barkley said she doesn`t have to run her air conditioning nearly as much as in her previous, traditional home.

That`s because ``traditional homes have many dead spots at the corners, but in a dome home the air flows on a continuous curve,`` Williamson explained. The dome, which has 6 inches of insulation throughout the outer shell, is airtight, he said.

``A dome will maximize the volume inside a structure while minimizing the surface area between the inside and outside,`` he said. ``We use a reflective roof system on the outside, with six coats of paint instead of tar paper.``